The Historical Dictionary of Islam - Hardcover

Adamec, Ludwig W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810839628 ISBN 13: 9780810839625

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 2001

Synopsis

Adamee (Middle Eastern studies, U. of Arizona) provides lay readers and serious students with a concise reference to Islamic history, religion, philosophy, and political movements. The entries describe the biographies and thought of medieval thinkers and modern members of the religious and political establishments, the major sects, schools of theology, jurisprudence, and aspects of Islamic culture. A chronology, a map, substantial cross- references, and a weighty bibliography support them. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

About the Author

Ludwig W. Adamec is a world renowned Near Eastern Scholar, noted for his expertise on Afghanistan. He is a professor at the University of Arizona and has served on the boards of the American Research Center in Egypt and the American Institute of Iranian Studies among others. He is the author of 24 volumes and numerous articles and monographs.

Reviews

Adamec (Middle Eastern studies, Univ. of Arizona), director of the Near Eastern Center for a decade, is a widely known authority on Afghanistan who has published many books and articles. The volumes in this Scarecrow series have varied in quality, but this dictionary fares well. Its clear, concise entries give basic facts, organized under headings in English, when available, rather than in Arabic. The book includes a chronology, an accessible historical introduction, and a considerable bibliography arranged by broad categories. Unfortunately, the book has a few drawbacks: some topics are missing (e.g., "Qa'im," similar to Mahdi); the need to compress sometimes distorts a subject, as in the article on Bab; and there is only one map. While larger libraries should be sure that they also have larger reference works on Islam (e.g., Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill Academic; Encyclopaedia Iranica, Mazda), this book is a good acquisition for most public libraries and a useful supplementary quick reference for academic libraries. William P. Collins, Library of Congress

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810839628
• ISBN 13: 9780810839625
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456